Japan's ruling bloc only managed to "bulldoze" the immigration bill through the parliament in the early hours of Saturday amid staunch resistance from the opposition parties, who accused the bill of being vague and having not received sufficient deliberation.
Under the new legislation, two new resident statuses are expected to be created from next April, granting working rights to foreigners in sectors that suffer severe labor shortage, including construction, farming and nursing care.
Critics of the legislation said that it failed to specify the types of jobs the foreign workers would engage in and would give the government too much freedom to decide details later through ministerial ordinances without parliamentary debate.
There are also concerns that the lack of detail in the bill could create loopholes through which foreign workers could be exploited.
"The bill was passed at a time when the country's foreign technical intern training program had drawn much criticism," said Goro Takahashi, a professor at Japan's Aichi University. The program, set up with the intention to transfer skills to developing countries, has been criticized as a cover for importing cheap labor, and there have been many reports about foreign interns working long hours under harsh environment and having very low payment.
"The foreign technical intern program needs a thorough review, and the government should have stricter supervision over employers of those foreign interns and give them more guidance," said Takahashi.
【国际英语资讯:Japan Diet passes controversial immigration bill, constitution amendment debate delayed】相关文章:
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